The Connecticut College Arboretum has transformed into William Shakespeare’s 16th-century world, with woven wooden arches at the actor’s stage left and stage right and a lily pad-covered pond as the backdrop. This beautiful setting is the site of a New London tradition: Flock Theatre’s summer Shakespeare productions.

This is the 24th year that the New London-based Flock has produced the Bard’s plays, something that Artistic Director Derron Wood is extremely proud of.

“It’s scary that (Flock Theatre) is coming up on a quarter century, but it’s interesting because you forget how quickly time flies,” Wood says. “It’s fascinating how you start something and then it takes on a life of its own.”

As an alum of Connecticut College, Wood decided to mix his passion for Shakespeare with the serenity of the Arboretum and now, over two decades later, Flock presents the longest-running uninterrupted outdoor Shakespeare festival in the region. This year, Wood is directing Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part I,” from July 19 to August 5.

“Henry IV, Part I” is the third drama in Flock’s run of Shakespeare’s War of the Roses nine-play rotation that started two years ago with “Edward III.” Lasting from 1455 to 1485, the War of the Roses centered around a deep English history of civil wars and unrest that Shakespeare writes about in “Henry IV.” The tragedy revolves around two plot points. The king and his son, Prince Hal — also known as Prince Harry — have a strained relationship, as the son forgoes his responsibilities to carouse with his buddies in taverns. On the other hand, a civil war against King Henry is brewing, and a bloody battle, called the Battle of Shrewsbury, is on the horizon.

“I think right now it’s so interesting to look at (‘Henry IV’) with a modern sensibility,” Wood says. “It has a lot to do with, for lack of a better word, betrayal, and you see it throughout the play … It’s shown in the court where the politicians are pretending to do something and then flipping and being Machiavellian.”

Betrayal, honor and friendship are all important themes in the Bard’s tale that Wood finds meaningful for himself and for audience members. However, these themes are masked by comedy in the form of one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedic characters of all time, Falstaff (played by Jeff Latham).

“You have this incredible monologue delivered by Falstaff on the battlefield about ‘what is honor,’ and you get these powerful words from this lying, fat man,” Wood says. “So it’s interesting as to what is the reality, what is needed, what is truth … what is friendship? When a friendship is destructive, is it something that you need to discard? It raises all those questions that I think are really always prevalent.”

There are even parallels between modern-era royals and the characters in “Henry IV, Part I.” In the play, Prince Harry has to step away from his rowdy behavior to take on his responsibilities from the throne. Similarly, the 21st-century Prince Harry has set aside his younger-year shenanigans, cleaning up his royal act as he is newly married to actress Meghan Markle.

Wood believes the production will strongly influence audience members, since it has already impacted his life greatly.

“What is the way you are going to live your life and what are you going to do with that?” Wood says. “That’s the real key and what I take away from it. I am constantly replaying those things and looking back on, not only what decisions I’ve made, but realizing decisions I want to make. The last time I directed this play, I was probably in my 20s, and now I’m 52, about to be 53, so I view the play completely different. That to me is so interesting.”

Christie Williams, who plays King Henry IV, has been involved with Flock for almost a decade, and he admires the ambitious projects the small company takes on, such as this summer’s first production.

“That mix of politics, warfare and sheer, almost slapstick comedy really makes it quite a special play among the history plays of Shakespeare,” Williams says. “I think audience members will be surprised at how engaging the history is and will be enthralled at the comedy.”

Williams also describes the Bard’s work as a “masterpiece, with great poetry and political intrigue,” that has captivated all the cast members.

“(Flock Theatre) at this point has done all the plays that everyone recognizes again and again,” Wood says. “A couple years ago, I said, ‘Look, I want to do all these other plays,’ and part of our mission is to make these plays accessible ... The audience is out there that loves Shakespeare, and if I’m in a town and someone is doing a production of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ I hate to say it, but I’m probably not going to see it. If they’re doing one of the more obscure ones, then I have to go see it! That’s because I want to see those stories — what a cast, company and director want to do with that language to tell the story. The plays themselves are so meant to be performed to be understood.”

“Henry IV, Part I,” Connecticut College Arboretum, Williams Street, New London; opens Thursday and runs through Aug. 5; performances at 7 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays; $15 adults, $20 students, seniors and active military; lawn chairs and blankets, bug spray and sweaters are recommended; (860) 443-3119, flocktheatre@hotmail.com.